Just as my friends finished disembarking, I noticed someone trying to reach the front of the crowd. She had to have been a teacher, because there was no way someone her age was a student.

From where I was, the woman looked quite short, but I was flying. I guessed that she was around Natasha’s height, so a few inches shorter than me. She had grey hair tied into a tight bun on top of her head, and from where I was I could just about make out small ovular glasses on the end of her nose.

Her attire was…unique. She was wearing a dark green robe that dragged on the ground for about half a foot behind her. The collar of this robe was up, encasing her neck, and had little spikes along the edges. It made her look like a proper villain.

When she finally made her way to the front, she ordered the students, who had been whispering among themselves, to be quiet. Then she looked at each of my friends in turn before finally gazing up at me.

‘Hello, all!’ she said cheerfully. ‘I am Sylvia Montgomery, the headteacher here at Apercaput School for Witchcraft and Wizardry! I take it that you, sir, are Albert Santrrer?’

I slowly descended, landing on the pebbly shore below gently.

I immediately became distracted. My mind wandered to the scenery around me. I could hear the water faintly lapping against the pebbles on the shore. The breeze gently wafted through my hair. It was a happy place.

‘Yes, that’s me, ma’am,’ I replied, offering my hand for a handshake. ‘Albert Santrrer, Prime Minister of RoCity.’

She shook my hand. Her palms were cold as ice. The two of us stared into each other’s eyes as the handshake took place. It felt like it lasted an eternity.

Once the two of us had finished, I jumped powerfully back up into the air, flapping my wings as I did so. I floated back to my original position.

‘May I ask for everyone else’s names, as well?’ Montgomery asked quietly.

‘Feel free to,’ I replied calmly, trying to give off a good impression. My eyes were still scanning the faces and appearances of the students.

The gentle wind eased my mind. I felt as though I should’ve been stressed, given the situation, but feeling the breeze ease through my wings put those feelings to rest.

I still couldn’t find anyone that immediately struck me as a potential cousin, but another student definitely caught my eye.

Her dark brown hair glistened in the cold sunlight in an oddly striking way. It had slight curls towards the tips that had fallen over her shoulders. Even from where I was, I could see her sea-green eyes, which, like her hair, shone in the light.

‘Albert!’ Charlotte hissed from below me, breaking me from my trance.

‘Pardon?’

I looked down to see the headteacher watching me. Evidently, she had tried to speak to me but I had been distracted.

‘Apologies.’

‘No worries,’ she replied, smiling. ‘Do you need the names of all the students?’

‘No, don’t trouble yourself with that, ma’am,’ I said steadily. ‘We have papers ready to take the names of all the students as they board. Once we have finished noting them all down, you can check over our list if you wish?’

‘I think that’s the best course of action,’ she replied, still smiling at me. ‘How do you wish for them to board?’

I stared at the crowd and then turned and glanced at the deck.

‘I am not sure that the deck is large enough for them all. I suggest they board in small groups. From there, we will take their names and they will be shown to their rooms.’

A general murmur of excitement arose from the crowd before the headteacher gave them all a stern look.

‘May I ask, how many students are here?’

‘One-hundred-and-forty-seven, if I remember correctly.’

My stomach sank like a stone.

I glanced down at Asbel, who looked back at me with a worried expression. We both knew. We just had to decide who was gonna tell her. Thankfully, Asbel did before I could even open my mouth.

‘Apologies, miss,’ he began with a strange sort of quiet confidence, ‘but we only have one-hundred-and-forty-five available rooms on Koning van de wateren.’

Her eyebrows shot up.

‘He built the ship,’ I explained to her and she stared up at me.

‘Oh, I see,’ she murmured in response, now eyeing Asbel strangely.

She turned to the students, evidently about to tell them that two of them had to leave, but I, rudely, cut her off.

‘Wait!’ I cried, louder than intended.

Everyone stared up at me. I cleared my throat.

‘Sorry. But, Asbel, we do have the right about of rooms. The perfect amount. There are two empty rooms on our floor.’

He evidently became lost in thought for a moment. Knowing him, he was debating whether or not he wanted two random people staying on our floor. But, he eventually gave in to the goodness of his heart.

‘You’re right. No worries, Miss Montgomery, we have just the right space for them all.’

Another murmur of excitement from the students. One even cheered.

‘How soon should they begin boarding? We’re happy for you to eat in our Hall before leaving if you so desire?’ Miss Montgomery asked sweetly.

‘That won’t be needed, ma’am,’ I replied coolly. ‘If they are all ready to leave, then we are ready to take them. There is plenty of food and other supplies on board.’

A lot of the students seemed shocked at this. As they all stared at me in amazement, I did some quick maths in my head.

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‘One-hundred-and-forty-seven of them? They can board in seven groups of twenty-one. The deck can fit that, right, Asbel?’

He looked up and nodded.

Now it was time for me to really become a leader.

‘Students of Apercaput!’ I shouted, floating forward slightly. ‘I know this is sudden, and I apologise, but I am Albert Santrrer, Prime Minister of RoCity, which is where you will be living from this point forth! You all must be the bravest of the brave to apply for this task, and I hope you know what you are getting into! At RoCity, you will fight for our army, and in return, we will supply you with education, rooves over your heads, and anything else you so desire! More will be explained in due time, but are you ready?’

There was a unanimous agreement from the crowd. Now, it was multiple that cheered.

‘Alright!’ I cried, turning in the air so that I was now facing my friends. ‘Charlotte, Aid members, and Asbel, if you would not mind, stand by the stairs that lead into the ship! You will be the seven group leaders! Once assigned a group, your task is to show them around the ship and then to their rooms! Understood?’

They all nodded quickly, determination coating their faces. All of them scuttled up the stairs onto the ship, and I watched them all stand by the stairs, ready.

‘Everybody else!’ I continued. ‘You will complete a variety of jobs! Stephen, Ali! Make sure there is no chaos or disruption as the students start to climb the stairs! Ethan, Natasha, Peter! You three will be writing down the names and ages of the students as they board Rex Aquarum! Jay, Isaac! Once the students have had their names written down, you will make sure they are not carrying anything dangerous! Any objections?’

They all grinned and agreed to the terms before rushing into position. I felt kinda bad for ordering them around like that, but at the same time, this was the most fun I’d ever had being a leader.

‘Miss Montgomery, if you wouldn’t mind sorting the students out into groups of twenty-one, that would be much appreciated,’ I said, with a lot less volume than I had used for my previous few statements.

‘I’d be happy to help,’ she answered, smiling at me. ‘And I must say, you have remarkable leadership skills. You found a job for everyone.’

‘The compliment is much appreciated, ma’am,’ I replied, smiling back at her.

I flew over to the deck and floated above Ethan, Natasha, and Peter. I was praying that one of them wrote down the name ‘Harvey’.

I watched silently as Miss Montgomery separated the first group of twenty-one from the main crowd. They were all buzzing with excitement.

There appeared to be no trouble for Stephen and Ali at the base of the stairs as the students all boarded without disruption.

I eagerly listened to each and every student as they said their name, praying to the Gods that one of them was him. But none of them were. It was fine, though. That was only one group out of seven.

They all passed Jay and Isaac’s check as well. After which, they all walked, still buzzing, over to the stairs, where Joseph took them inside.

‘Ready for the second group!’ I called down to Miss Montgomery.

Immediately, she separated another twenty-one from the main group.

Something was different about this lot, however. Kinda. Not everyone in the group acted strangely, but there was one boy in particular who caught my eye.

He stood out from his peers due to his height, and he was easily taller than me. From where I was hovering, I deduced that he had to have been about five-eight, maybe even five-nine. His light brown hair was very short on the sides, and presumably the back, and longer on the top. It wasn’t as long as mine by any means, and he definitely didn’t have a ‘fringe’ but it was longer than that on the sides.

He stared at me with dark brown eyes as he walked up the steps with his peers. They were full of such a strange emotion that I am unsure how to begin describing it. He seemed curious, mostly, but also awestruck, and maybe even a bit suspicious.

My heart began to race. There was no way, right? Simply no way.

The line in front of him was disappearing fast, and he was quickly getting closer and closer to my friends. I was still listening closely to the names that were being said, but none of them were ‘Harvey’, so I could keep my attention fixated on the strange boy on the stairs.

I watched keenly as he reached the top of the stairs, and I don’t think I have ever listened to anything as closely as I did in that moment.

‘Alyssa Grove.’

‘Harvey Bèstia.’

‘Charlie Ryan.’

‘Oh, my Gods,’ I breathed as my friends all looked up at me.

The boy who had been staring at me strangely was the one called Harvey. He eyed me curiously again.

I gently landed a few feet in front of him.

‘D-Did you say your name was Harvey?’

He stared at me. ‘I’m your cousin.’

My eyes widened as my stomach flipped.

‘H-How do you know that?’

‘The woman I live with told me the whole story,’ he continued quietly. ‘About my mom and Amy. And how my dad rescued me. The prick left me a few years ago, anyway.’

I stepped forward, looking up at him. He really was tall.

Wordlessly, the two of us clasped our hands together and did that strange hug that I had imagined. We thumped each other’s backs with tremendous force and I tried my absolute hardest not to cry.

As we pulled away, Harvey smiled at me sadly.

‘The second I heard it was your city that we were offering kids to, I couldn’t say no,’ he explained, still quiet, but with a bit more confidence than before. ‘I get to fight and see my only living relative? How could anyone actually decline that?’

I smiled at him. ‘The only reason we came was cuz of you. I didn’t wanna drag kids into it. But then I remembered that you go here, and I had to come.’

‘You’re a kid.’

‘You’re younger than me, if I remember correctly,’ I taunted, smirking.

‘What do you mean ‘remember correctly’?’ he asked, his brow furrowed. ‘Who even told you about me?’

‘I’ll explain more later,’ I said awkwardly. ‘But, to put it simply, our Grandad told me about you and the rest of my cousins. He’s how I know about you.’

‘He’s still alive?’ Harvey breathed, and pain shot through my chest.

‘No,’ I replied tightly. ‘He died nearly two years ago.’

‘He survived Amy’s attack on our family?’ Harvey whispered.

‘Me, you, and him were the only ones.’

Harvey took a moment to gather his thoughts.

‘Sorry, this is a lot to take in,’ I said quickly. ‘Pass through Jay and Isaac, and then head over to the stairs with your group. Once you’re familiar with the ship-’

‘Oh no, he can stay here,’ Asbel said. I hadn’t even realised that he wasn’t by the stairs anymore. He must’ve come over to see whether or not the boy I was talking to was actually Harvey. ‘He can stay in one of the rooms on our floor.’

I beamed at him. ‘You’re great, man.’

Harvey stared at me. ‘Are we friends now?’

Both Asbel and I stared at him, aghast. That was, before Asbel abruptly left the scene and stood back over by the stairs.

‘Why wouldn’t we be?’ I replied, beaming.

He patted my shoulder much as you would expect a brotherly figure to.

‘Thanks, man. I only have two proper friends that are coming with me, and they’re both girls.’

My mind flashed back to Emma for a moment.

‘Hang on,’ I said, before shouting. ‘Ready for group three! Sorry. Continue.’

‘One of them’s that Alyssa girl that got signed on with me. The other one should be coming on now. She’s in the third year.’

I hadn’t even realised that Miss Montgomery was bringing on the groups in order of age. Now that I thought about it, the first group had been pretty short.

‘So, you’re a second year?’

‘That’s the equivalent of a Year 8,’ he said hastily. ‘But yeah, I am.’

‘One sec, I’ll be with you shortly.’

I jumped up from the ground, unfurling my wings. I hovered a few feet above the deck, where Harvey was staring at me in amazement.

‘Holy shit,’ he breathed. ‘They’re even cooler up close.’

I scanned the oncoming group, and my heart skipped a beat for some reason.

The dark-haired, green-eyed girl was part of the third group. She was engaged in a hushed conversation with other girls her age. She seemed to be giggling.

My heart beat just a bit faster.

I landed on the deck with a thud.

‘Do you mind if I help with the signing in for a while?’ I asked Harvey quickly.

‘No problem. I can help if you want.’

‘Nah, we’re not putting you to work just yet. Just stay on deck for now, mate.’

‘‘Mate’?’

‘Sorry, do you not want me to call you that?’ I asked, panicking.

‘No…it’s just…I didn’t think you’d like me so fast.’

I patted his shoulder.

‘Harvey, you’re the fucker I’ve needed all my life. Obviously I’m gonna like you. Not like that.’

He grinned at me before awkwardly stammering, ‘Can we hug?

‘Whatever you need, mate.’

The two of us dived onto each other with terrific force in one of the tightest hugs I’d ever been a part of. We were thumping each other’s backs, hard, and I awkwardly used my hand to wipe my eyes behind him.

‘Thank you so much, man,’ Harvey murmured in my ear. ‘I’m so glad we finally met.’

‘You and me both,’ I muttered.

We were hugging so tightly that it seemed as though we were both about to fall over. But I didn’t care. I grasped him tighter and tighter, and he returned the favour. This lasted for what felt like years.

And, as much as I didn’t want to, I gently eased out of the bear hug. The two of us beamed at each other, and my chest swelled. I had finally done it. I’d met him.

The only question now was: how long would this peace last?